Never Say Never

Chapter 17

"Jesus Christ, Mila, are you leaving for a month?" Sofi says when she arrives at Camila's apartment on the day of her trip to take her to the airport, eyebrows shooting skyward when she catches sight of Camila very full suitcase.

"I didn't know what I'd need," Camila defends.

"So you thought you'd take everything you owned?"

"Yep." Sofi shakes her head, but she helps Camila lug the suitcase down the stairs to her waiting car anyway.

"How are you feeling?" Sofi asks when they're on the road, and Camila shrugs, because she's not really sure.

She's never been out of the country before, certainly never been away without her sister in tow, and it's strange, to know that she's going to be flying across the Atlantic without her.

But she's excited, too, because she's going somewhere new, and she gets to spend time with Leo, gets to explore a new city and see it through his eyes, too. And she'll be with Lauren, too, and though things between them have remained a little strained, they'd improved, somewhat, since their conversation that night after Clara's unannounced visit.

"It'll be... an experience, if nothing else," she says, and Sofi's lips curve into a small smile – she hadn't been too happy, when Camila had told her she was still planning on going, worried that it wouldn't be good for her, that she needed to stay away from Lauren, not jet across the ocean with her, but Camila had assured her sister that she'd be fine.

"And you'll call me, if you need anything?"

"Yes, Mom." Sofi reaches across the centre console to poke her squarely in the ribs, eyes never leaving the road, and Camila squirms away. "Will you manage to survive a few days without me?"

"Somehow I think I'll manage," Sofi replies dryly, and Camila pouts.

"You won't miss me?"

"You know I will." Sofi pulls up in the departures carpark and turns to face her. "Have the best time, and take all of the photos for me."

"I will, I promise." She wraps her sister in the best bear hug she can manage whilst they're in the car. "I'll let you know when I get there."

She retrieves her bag from the trunk before entering the airport, turning to throw Sofi one last wave over her shoulder before she disappears from view. There's a flutter of nerves in her stomach as she approaches the check-in desk, the same ones she always gets whenever she sets foot in an airport.

She's not scared of flying, exactly, but she doesn't really enjoy it, and the thought of nearly eleven hours on a plane when her record thus far is half that sets her on edge.

She's not very well travelled, but she'd flown between Yale and Midvale on her own often enough that she knows what she's doing, gets herself checked in without an issue, watches her bag disappear and hopes that she'll see it on the other side.

The line for security is long, and by the time she's through to the other side she doesn't have much time. She browses through a couple of the shops, fills her backpack with snacks, and then she wanders down to her gate, feeling a flutter of disappointment when Lauren is nowhere to be found.

She's probably in the first class lounge – Camila knows she has access to it, too, but she knows she'd only feel awkward and out of place in there, will be bad enough on the actual plane, so instead she settles down against a window, leans her side against the glass and watches the planes fly down the runway.

She doesn't actually run into Lauren until she's on the plane – Camila's been sat for a while, flicking through one of the magazines she'd found in the seat pocket, more relaxed in her comfy seat with the extra legroom than she's ever felt on a plane before – when she hears Lauren's voice, phone to her ear and rattling off a list of instructions to whoever is on the other end of the line, Ally following a half-step behind.